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Mercury (; Latin: ''Mercurius'' (:mɛrˈkʊr.jʊs) ) is a major Roman god, being one of the Dii Consentes within the ancient Roman pantheon. He is the patron god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence (and thus poetry), messages/communication (including divination), travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery and thieves; he is also the guide of souls to the underworld.〔Glossary to Ovid's Fasti, Penguin edition, by Boyle and Woodard at 343〕〔Rupke, The Religion of the Romans, at 4〕 He was considered the son of Maia and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is possibly related to the Latin word ''merx'' ("merchandise"; compare ''merchant'', ''commerce'', etc.), ''mercari'' (''to trade''), and ''merces'' (''wages''); another possible connection is the Proto-Indo-European root merĝ- for "boundary, border" (cf. Old English "mearc", Old Norse "mark" and Latin "margō") and Greek οὖρος (by analogy of Arctūrus/Ἀρκτοῦρος), as the "keeper of boundaries," referring to his role as bridge between the upper and lower worlds. In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms, both of which share characteristics with the Greek god Hermes. In Virgil's ''Aeneid'', Mercury reminds Aeneas of his mission to found the city of Rome. In Ovid's ''Fasti'', Mercury is assigned to escort the nymph Larunda to the underworld. Mercury, however, fell in love with Larunda and made love to her on the way. Larunda thereby became mother to two children, referred to as the Lares, invisible household gods. Mercury has influenced the name of many things in a variety of scientific fields, such as the planet Mercury, and the element mercury. The word ''mercurial'' is commonly used to refer to something or someone erratic, volatile or unstable, derived from Mercury's swift flights from place to place. He is often depicted holding the caduceus in his left hand. ==History== Mercury did not appear among the numinous ''di indigetes'' of early Roman religion. Rather, he subsumed the earlier Dei Lucrii as Roman religion was syncretized with Greek religion during the time of the Roman Republic, starting around the 4th century BC. From the beginning, Mercury had essentially the same aspects as Hermes, wearing winged shoes (talaria) and a winged hat (petasos), and carrying the caduceus, a herald's staff with two entwined snakes that was Apollo's gift to Hermes. He was often accompanied by a cockerel, herald of the new day, a ram or goat, symbolizing fertility, and a tortoise, referring to Mercury's legendary invention of the lyre from a tortoise shell. Like Hermes, he was also a god of messages, eloquence and of trade, particularly of the grain trade. Mercury was also considered a god of abundance and commercial success, particularly in Gaul, where he was said to have been particularly revered.〔Caesar, Gallic War, at 55〕 He was also, like Hermes, the Romans' psychopomp, leading newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Additionally, Ovid wrote that Mercury carried Morpheus' dreams from the valley of Somnus to sleeping humans.〔Littleton, C. Scott (Ed.) (2002). ''Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth and Storytelling'' (pp. 195, 251, 253, 258, 292). London: Duncan Baird Publishers. ISBN 1-904292-01-1.〕 Archeological evidence from Pompeii suggests that Mercury was among the most popular of Roman gods.〔Beard, Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town at 295–298〕 The god of commerce was depicted on two early bronze coins of the Roman Republic, the Sextans and the Semuncia.〔Sear, David R. (2000). ''Roman Coins and Their Values – The Millennium Edition''. Volume I: The Republic and The Twelve Caesars, 280BC-AD96 (pp. 187–189). London: Spink. ISBN 1-902040-35-X〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mercury (mythology)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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